The Servant, the Light to the Gentiles

49 “Listen, (A)O coastlands, to Me,
And take heed, you peoples from afar!
(B)The Lord has called Me from the womb;
From the [a]matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name.
And He has made (C)My mouth like a sharp sword;
(D)In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me,
And made Me (E)a polished shaft;
In His quiver He has hidden Me.”

“And He said to me,
(F)‘You are My servant, O Israel,
(G)In whom I will be glorified.’
(H)Then I said, ‘I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain;
Yet surely my [b]just reward is with the Lord,
And my [c]work with my God.’ ”

“And now the Lord says,
Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him,
So that Israel (I)is [d]gathered to Him
(For I shall be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,
And My God shall be My strength),
Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a (J)light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

Thus says the Lord,
The Redeemer of Israel, [e]their Holy One,
(K)To Him [f]whom man despises,
To Him whom the nation abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
(L)“Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall worship,
Because of the Lord who is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You.”

Thus says the Lord:

“In an (M)acceptable[g] time I have heard You,
And in the day of salvation I have helped You;
I will [h]preserve You (N)and give You
As a covenant to the people,
To restore the earth,
To cause them to inherit the desolate [i]heritages;
That You may say (O)to the prisoners, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’

“They shall feed along the roads,
And their pastures shall be on all desolate heights.
10 They shall neither (P)hunger nor thirst,
(Q)Neither heat nor sun shall strike them;
For He who has mercy on them (R)will lead them,
Even by the springs of water He will guide them.
11 (S)I will make each of My mountains a road,
And My highways shall be elevated.
12 Surely (T)these shall come from afar;
Look! Those from the north and the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”

13 (U)Sing, O heavens!
Be joyful, O earth!
And break out in singing, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
And will have mercy on His afflicted.

God Will Remember Zion

14 (V)But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And my Lord has forgotten me.”

15 “Can(W) a woman forget her nursing child,
[j]And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
(X)Yet I will not forget you.
16 See, (Y)I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.
17 Your [k]sons shall make haste;
Your destroyers and those who laid you waste
Shall go away from you.
18 (Z)Lift up your eyes, look around and see;
All these gather together and come to you.
As I live,” says the Lord,
“You shall surely clothe yourselves with them all (AA)as an ornament,
And bind them on you as a bride does.

19 “For your waste and desolate places,
And the land of your destruction,
(AB)Will even now be too small for the inhabitants;
And those who swallowed you up will be far away.
20 (AC)The children you will have,
(AD)After you have lost the others,
Will say again in your ears,
‘The place is too small for me;
Give me a place where I may dwell.’
21 Then you will say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have lost my children and am desolate,
A captive, and wandering to and fro?
And who has brought these up?
There I was, left alone;
But these, where were they?’ ”

22 (AE)Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I will lift My hand in an oath to the nations,
And set up My [l]standard for the peoples;
They shall bring your sons in their [m]arms,
And your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders;
23 (AF)Kings shall be your foster fathers,
And their queens your nursing mothers;
They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth,
And (AG)lick up the dust of your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord,
(AH)For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.”

24 (AI)Shall the prey be taken from the mighty,
Or the captives [n]of the righteous be delivered?

25 But thus says the Lord:

“Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
And the prey of the terrible be delivered;
For I will contend with him who contends with you,
And I will save your children.
26 I will (AJ)feed those who oppress you with their own flesh,
And they shall be drunk with their own (AK)blood as with sweet wine.
All flesh (AL)shall know
That I, the Lord, am your Savior,
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 49:1 Lit. inward parts
  2. Isaiah 49:4 justice
  3. Isaiah 49:4 recompense
  4. Isaiah 49:5 Qr., DSS, LXX gathered to Him; Kt. not gathered
  5. Isaiah 49:7 Lit. his or its
  6. Isaiah 49:7 Lit. who is despised of soul
  7. Isaiah 49:8 favorable
  8. Isaiah 49:8 keep
  9. Isaiah 49:8 inheritances
  10. Isaiah 49:15 Lit. From having compassion
  11. Isaiah 49:17 DSS, LXX, Tg., Vg. builders
  12. Isaiah 49:22 banner
  13. Isaiah 49:22 Lit. bosom
  14. Isaiah 49:24 So with MT, Tg.; DSS, Syr., Vg. of the mighty; LXX unjustly

耶和华之仆自述其徒劳

49 “众海岛啊,当听我言!远方的众民哪,留心而听!自我出胎,耶和华就选召我;自出母腹,他就提我的名。 他使我的口如快刀,将我藏在他手荫之下;又使我成为磨亮的箭,将我藏在他箭袋之中。 对我说:‘你是我的仆人以色列,我必因你得荣耀。’ 我却说:‘我劳碌是徒然,我尽力是虚无虚空,然而我当得的理必在耶和华那里,我的赏赐必在我神那里。’

自言将施救恩至于地极

“耶和华从我出胎造就我做他的仆人,要使雅各归向他,使以色列到他那里聚集。原来耶和华看我为尊贵,我的神也成为我的力量。 现在他说:‘你做我的仆人,使雅各众支派复兴,使以色列中得保全的归回,尚为小事,我还要使你做外邦人的光,叫你施行我的救恩,直到地极。’” 救赎主以色列的圣者耶和华,对那被人所藐视、本国所憎恶、官长所虐待的如此说:“君王要看见就站起,首领也要下拜,都因信实的耶和华,就是拣选你以色列的圣者。”

耶和华如此说:“在悦纳的时候,我应允了你;在拯救的日子,我济助了你。我要保护你,使你做众民的中保[a],复兴遍地,使人承受荒凉之地为业。 对那被捆绑的人说:‘出来吧!’对那在黑暗的人说:‘显露吧!’他们在路上必得饮食,在一切净光的高处必有食物。 10 不饥不渴,炎热和烈日必不伤害他们,因为怜恤他们的必引导他们,领他们到水泉旁边。 11 我必使我的众山成为大道,我的大路也被修高。 12 看哪,这些从远方来,这些从北方,从西方来,这些从[b]国来。” 13 诸天哪,应当欢呼!大地啊,应当快乐!众山哪,应当发声歌唱!因为耶和华已经安慰他的百姓,也要怜恤他困苦之民。

主恩恒久不易

14 锡安说:‘耶和华离弃了我,主忘记了我。’ 15 妇人焉能忘记她吃奶的婴孩,不怜恤她所生的儿子?即或有忘记的,我却不忘记你。 16 看哪,我将你铭刻在我掌上,你的墙垣常在我眼前。 17 你的儿女必急速归回,毁坏你的、使你荒废的,必都离你出去。 18 你举目向四方观看,他们都聚集来到你这里。”耶和华说:“我指着我的永生起誓:你必要以他们为装饰佩戴,以他们为华带束腰,像新妇一样。 19 至于你荒废凄凉之处,并你被毁坏之地,现今众民居住必显为太窄,吞灭你的必离你遥远。 20 你必听见丧子之后所生的儿女说:‘这地方我居住太窄,求你给我地方居住!’ 21 那时你心里必说:‘我既丧子独居,是被掳的,漂流在外,谁给我生这些,谁将这些养大呢?撇下我一人独居的时候,这些在哪里呢?’”

22 主耶和华如此说:“我必向列国举手,向万民竖立大旗,他们必将你的众子怀中抱来,将你的众女肩上扛来。 23 列王必做你的养父,王后必做你的乳母。他们必将脸伏地,向你下拜,并舔你脚上的尘土。你便知道我是耶和华,等候我的必不致羞愧。”

24 勇士抢去的岂能夺回?该掳掠的岂能解救吗? 25 但耶和华如此说:“就是勇士所掳掠的,也可以夺回;强暴人所抢的,也可以解救。与你相争的,我必与他相争,我要拯救你的儿女。 26 并且我必使那欺压你的吃自己的肉,也要以自己的血喝醉,好像喝甜酒一样。凡有血气的必都知道我耶和华是你的救主,是你的救赎主,是雅各的大能者。”

Footnotes

  1. 以赛亚书 49:8 “中保”原文作“约”。
  2. 以赛亚书 49:12 “秦”原文作“希尼”。